5 Must-have Shorts for Men

When it comes to fashion, it's a well-known fact that guys get the short shrift. Not to make too much of a sweeping generalization here, but girls do get to have all the fun. Women have so many more clothing options, and there are little to no rules about length, cut, fabric, color or pattern. This phenomenon is most noticeable at black-tie events -- where the women are individually wrapped in sparkling dresses, and the men are virtually interchangeable in black tuxes -- and during the summer.

When the weather starts getting warmer, women can bust out their summer wardrobes of tank tops, tube tops, dresses, skirts, shorts, capris -- basically, whatever they want. It's all fair game. And men? Well ... men have shorts, and that's about it.

There are two basic rules with men's shorts. No. 1: Stay away from pleats, please. Flat-front is the only way to go. You want as straight a line as possible from hip to hem. No. 2: Don't mess around with the length. Your shorts should hit about an inch above the knee -- any shorter, and you're showing a little too much thigh and bordering on short-shorts. Any longer, and you're heading into man-capris territory, and no one wants to go there.

We wish we could say there are boatloads of options when it comes to men's shorts, but it's pretty slim pickings. Just to make sure you have all your bases covered, though, here's our list of must-have shorts.